August 25 coronavirus news

Wild polio may have been eradicated from the African continent, but vaccination will have to continue to keep the virus from coming back – and coronavirus is disrupting that effort, a top World Health Organization official said Tuesday.

Teams fought conflict and struggled to reach displaced people to deliver the vaccines that eradicated the virus, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, said during a live event on Tuesday. 

However, the battle is not over. The oral polio vaccine uses a weakened but not completely inactive strain of virus that, if it circulates among incompletely immunized people, can mutate into a pathogenic form. Vaccination must continue to keep this strain from causing outbreaks, Moeti said.

The Covid-19 pandemic means that some immunization campaigns are being postponed in 16 countries that are experiencing this type of polio. 

“The eradication of wild polio virus from the African region reminds us of the importance of investing in universal health coverage, in preparedness and response to outbreaks, and in making our societies more equitable, particularly for the most vulnerable among us,” Moeti said.

As students return to campuses, at least 24 states are reporting positive cases of Covid-19 at colleges and universities.

This represents more than 3,300 cases of Covid-19 among students and staff.

Remember: This is list represents cases that CNN has reported so far. There are likely many others.

Here's a look at the colleges and universities reporting coronavirus cases:

Watch:

Dr. Anthony Fauci said because Covid-19 is such a new disease, we “certainly don’t know the whole story. 

"I think we learned the lesson that I think we should have known from our experience with other outbreaks — is that when you're dealing with a work in progress, things change," Fauci said during an interview with the Infectious Diseases Society of America released today.

The interview was recorded last week, before Fauci’s vocal cord surgery. 

We are still “learning things in real time,” Fauci said.

Even today, we’re learning about Covid-19’s transmissibility, asymptomatic transmissibility and the long-range, chronic residual effects, Fauci said.

“As scientists and public health officials, we need to be humbled to realize that any given moment, there may be a lot that we still do not know,” he said.

Danbury, Connecticut's increase in Covid-19 cases are due in part to recent travel, places of worship and sports gatherings, Mayor Mark Boughton said during a news conference today.

Part of Danbury, Connecticut's spike in Covid-19 cases is also correlated with areas that had power outages, local and state officials said, prompting people to congregate for air conditioning.

State and local governments have reacted by closing athletic fields, as well as boat launches.

Right now, Danbury's rolling average is 22 cases per 100,000, according to Danbury's acting director of public health, Kara Prunty. Almost 1,000 people have been tested in Danbury over the last two days, Boughton added.

The federal agency charged with providing immigration benefits canceled the furlough of more than 13,000 employees Tuesday, a move that had been scheduled for later this month and would’ve brought the immigration system to a halt. 

US Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, told Congress in May that it expected to furlough more than half of its workforce amid a budget shortfall. The agency asked for $1.2 billion.

USCIS had initially anticipated furloughs to begin the beginning of August, until deciding to push back the date. But stalled talks in Congress over the next coronavirus relief bill, the anticipated vehicle for funding, diminished the possibility of providing the funding anytime soon. Over the weekend, the House unanimously passed legislation that would’ve temporarily kept the agency afloat. 

 USCIS attributed the decision to cancel the furlough scheduled to begin Aug. 30 to “unprecedented spending cuts and a steady increase in daily incoming revenue and receipts.” The agency said it expects to maintain operations through the end of fiscal year 2020. 

Italy has seen a steady increase in coronavirus cases in the past week, according to the health ministries press office. Authorities said approximately 50% of new infections have been contracted during summer vacations, around the country and abroad, primarily among young adults who have not been cautious with social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines.

Italy has reported 519 new, active Covid-19 cases within the last day, bringing the total number of active cases to at least 19,714, according to Italian Ministry of Health data released Monday.

Four people have died in the past 24 hours, bringing Italy's death toll to at least 35,445, according to the health ministry.

There have been at least 5,750,470 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 177,619 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

So far on Tuesday, Johns Hopkins has reported 10,746 new cases and 367 new deaths. 

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro´s eldest son, Flávio Bolsonaro tested positive for Covid-19 today, according to his press officer. 

Bolsonaro, a Rio de Janeiro senator, has not reported symptoms and is currently working from his home in Brasilia. 

The president's son is taking hydroxychloroquine as treatment, according to his press officer. President Bolsonaro has continually advocated the controversial anti-malarial drug with no scientifically proven effectiveness in treating Covid-19.

The President tested positive for the virus on July 7 and on subsequent occasions. On July 25, he announced via Twitter that he had tested negative. 

American Airlines says it will lay off or involuntarily furlough 19,000 employees as of Oct. 1 unless the airline industry gets more help from Congress.

The world's largest airline, which had 133,700 employees heading into this year, says it will need to reduce headcount by "at least" 40,000 employees. It said that 12,500 had agreed to leave the company with early retirement or buyout packages, and another 11,000 had agreed to voluntary furloughs for October.